General Question

Laser tag tactics - any tips?

So me and a group of work buddies are going to play some laser tag tomorrow and I was wondering if any of you Jellies ever played it and whether you could spare some pointers on how not to get killed too often, and maybe perhaps win a few times :-) Any tips for the beginning lasgun wielder? (no Holzman shields, so it should be safe lol :P)

16 Answers

Depends on the terrain, But if there’s cover, USE IT. and mirrors work both ways, great way to get “kills” around corners. High elevation can be a good thing but if there say only one or two towers, prepare to get swarmed by everyone else. And if your laser Tag is anything like my local one, hiding on top of walls works wonders… just don’t get caught or you’re screwed.

Accuracy is king. Running around like a 5 year old firing blindly will get you killed first. Take your time (if you have it), line up your shots and do so from somewhere defensible, if you can.

There is usually a chest sensor. This is a massive target. You should avoid having your chest ‘open’.

Any gun is far steadier when held with two hands in a stable configuration. The best way to achieve this in laser tag is to have the gun properly supported by one hand, while the other hand takes care of the trigger and buttstock. It’s far stabler when you shoot down the line of your shoulders. This has the added benefit of essentially hiding the chest sensor under one of your arms. Some might consider this unethical, but it’s the posture used by soldiers.

Walking shoulder-on basically reduces the number of sensors visible to enemies along your line of sight to one – the shoulder sensor.

These things will save you from a lot of deaths.

Don’t forget, like the others said, to use the cover you have. Moreover, don’t forget to watch for people flanking you. The last thing you need is for someone to shoot you in the back while you are engaging someone else at range.

As @King_Pariah said, it really depends on the venue. However, in general I seem to do well playing “sniper”, and in all of the arenas I have played in there are usually a couple of good locations to do so.

The sniper strategy is pretty simple. Head straight for the high ground and find a spot with good cover for your back and at least one side with good visibility of both approaching threats as well as opportunities to shoot and hide at targets on lower levels.

If your arena has “gems” that give you “superpowers”, don’t forget to use them. Even better if you find a good sniper point with easy access to a “gem”. If there is a “dark thief” gem in the arena (that let’s you steal an opponents points), wait until near the end of the game to leave your cushy sniper post, activate the “dark thief” gem, and then play cleanup.

Thank you all for all your tips, they all really came in handy today! :-) Here are a few pointers of my own, now that I’ve popped my… gun in laser tag for the very first time:

- do a warmup before the match, – wear protective gloves (the gun is heavy and you will eventually damage the skin of your hands otherwise) – shoot around corners, whilst remaining hidden yourself (can’t tell you how many times I got killed by someone who was doing that) – teamwork, teamwork, teamwork – and, indeed the camelbag filled with powerade or redbull can be a life saver – you woldn’t believe how much water you can sweat out in just 30 minutes.

On a side note, my left arm is killing me and so does my back – and this was just laser tag, I cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like being a soldier on the battlefield with actual pieces of metal/rock/bone flying over your head etc…